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Watchmen

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Watchmen (2009)

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Reviews Counted:272

Fresh:174

Rotten:98

Average Rating:6.2/10

Consensus: Gritty and visually striking, Watchmen is a faithful adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel, but its complex narrative structure may make it difficult for it to appeal to viewers not already familiar with the source material.

Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language.

Runtime: 9 hrs 36 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:06-03-2009

Synopsis: For those obsessed with the critically acclaimed graphic novel (which would be almost anyone who has read it), or for audiences looking for a stylish action film, WATCHMEN is worth--well--watching.... For those obsessed with the critically acclaimed graphic novel (which would be almost anyone who has read it), or for audiences looking for a stylish action film, WATCHMEN is worth--well--watching. But those who thought THE DARK KNIGHT was too gloomy should stay far away from Zack Snyder’s film. As far as superhero movies go, this graphic adaptation of the comic book series from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons makes even Christopher Nolan’s Batman films look like Saturday morning fare. Director Snyder and the screenwriters certainly deserve credit for crafting an adaptation of a work that has been deemed unfilmable since its 1986 release. Mammoth and mazelike, WATCHMEN follows a group of retired costumed heroes living in an alternate 1985 where Nixon is still president and fear of nuclear doomsday permeates the air. When a hero named the Comedian (an excellent Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is murdered, his former colleague--the unhinged, masked Rorschach (a perfectly creepy Jackie Earle Hayley)--begins investigating who is behind the death. The other masked crimefighters--Silk Spectre 2 (Malin Ackerman), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Nite Owl 2 (Patrick Wilson), and Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), a godlike being who is the only one with actual superpowers--soon learn that there may be a plot to rid the world of their kind. Snyder’s previous work in action (300) and horror (DAWN OF THE DEAD) proves to be preparation for this visually stunning film. The fight sequences are fantastically shot by director of photography Larry Fong, and the action can alternately make viewers hold their breaths at its composition or gasp at the shocking violence. Most will agree that WATCHMEN is not a comic book movie for kids: there’s sex and violence aplenty, but it truly makes itself a film for adults with its smart, complex storytelling. [More]

Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley

Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Stephen McHattie

Director: Zack Snyder

Director: Zack Snyder
Screenwriter: David Hayter, Alex Tse
Producer: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Deborah Snyder
Composer: Tyler Bates
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
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  • Crew Journal - Watchmen Wardrobe
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    Crew Journal - Dave Gibbons
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    Teaser Trailer
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    SDCC 08: Malin Akerman
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  • SDCC 08: Zack Snyder
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    SDCC 08: Billy Crudup
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    SDCC 08: Carla Gugino
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    SDCC 08: Jeffrey Dean Morgan
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  • SDCC 08: Matthew Goode
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    SDCC 08: Patrick Wilson
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    Crew Journal - The Owl Ship
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    Scream Awards Footage
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  • Crew Journal - The Dr. Manhattan Project
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    Crew Journal - Burn Baby Burn
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    Crew Journal - Sets And Sensibility
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    Crew Journal - Becoming Silk Specter
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  • Cast, Characters & Story
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    Trailer
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    Crew Journal - Rorschach's Mask
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    Rooftop Rescue
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  • Attention Citizens
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    Dr. Manhattan Can't Be Everywhere At Once
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    Don't Leave Me
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    We Can Save This World
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  • Every Day the Future Looks a Little Darker
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    The Superman Exists and He is American
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    We Can Break Into Pyramid
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    Our Days Are Numbered
    >
  • Zack Snyder Interview #2
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    Zack Snyder Interview #1
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    Jeffrey Dean Morgan Interview
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    Malin Ackerman Interview
    >
  • RT Review Revue - Watchmen
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    Review Revue - 03/06/09
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    Becoming Nite Owl
    >
1 - 4 of 35

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Reviews for Watchmen

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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The makers, marketers and producers of Watchmen have worked so hard to keep this community happy that they have lost sight of what makes a film truly exciting: our emotional engagement with the characters and their story.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment 11 Comments
03/07/09
Matthew De Abaitua
Matthew De Abaitua
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There’s a saying that a masterpiece has already found its perfect medium. Snyder has done as good a job as anyone could have done. That’s a loaded compliment. But as compliments go, it’s a huge one.

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
03/07/09
Little White Lies

Watchmen has taken two decades to get to cinemas. However, the biggest miracle is not that it's finally made it, but that it successfully spins a comic deemed to be unfilmable into a thoughtful, ante-upping blockbuster.

Full Review Source: Digital Spy | comment Comment
03/07/09
Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds
Digital Spy

If you’re a fan, you’ll already have booked your tickets, and we doubt Snyder’s reverential approach to the bleak material will disappoint.

comment Comment
03/07/09
Charles Gant
Charles Gant
Heat Magazine

Through sheer will and fanboy love Snyder has succeeded where Gilliam and Greengrass failed, bringing Watchmen to the screen faithfully and smartly, if not completely.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
03/07/09
Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies

Zack Snyder’s Watchmen is the Godzilla of the genre, laying waste to any remaining misconceptions.

Full Review Source: Daily Express | comment Comment
03/07/09
Allan Hunter
Allan Hunter
Daily Express

It’s not crash-bang enough for those who love superhero films, not complex enough for those who hate them. It’s flawed, then, but a flawed work of brilliance.

Full Review Source: thelondonpaper | comment Comment
03/07/09
Stuart McGurk
Stuart McGurk
thelondonpaper

Snyder’s last-ditch attempt to raise the geeky bar by introducing “real” people dressed up as heroes is more adolescent than adult, as is the addition of e nough soft-core 1970s bump and grind to win an 18 certificate.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment 7 Comments
03/06/09
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is dizzy, crazy and quite sexy - when it's not being self-indulgent and pointless. If it doesn't quite hang together or add up, or stick faithfully to the comic-book original, these offences aren't major. What a spectacle.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
03/06/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You may frequently wonder why Snyder has bothered. But if you want a slavish, often exciting screen translation of Moore and Gibbons’ landmark, here it is.

Full Review Source: Uncut Magazine [UK] | comment Comment
03/06/09
Nick Hasted
Nick Hasted
Uncut Magazine [UK]

This is a landmark film for the genre that will impress, amaze and grip but it is not light entertainment.

Full Review Source: Heart 106.2 | comment Comment
03/06/09
Simon Thompson
Simon Thompson
Heart 106.2

This despicable trash will find an audience among sad sociopaths, deranged pseudo-intellectuals and brutalised, immature men of all ages. I just hope that there aren't enough of them to make it a hit. If there are, God help cinema.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment 69 Comments
03/06/09
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

Watchmen is a spectacular visual treat, with special effects to match the ambition of the story. It is way too long... but there is no denying it is a seriously cool and bloody superhero epic.

Full Review Source: Sunday Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
03/06/09
Mark Adams
Mark Adams
Sunday Mirror [UK]

The unfilmable has become the unlovable.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment 2 Comments
03/06/09
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Often genius is flawed, just like the deeply troubled Watchmen heroes, and there is no doubt that this film is the product of superior minds.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment 1 Comment
03/06/09
Sun Online

Dark arterial blood pools across pavements and leaks under doorways, as though to chasten us. Unfortunately, after two and half hours of this sanguinary spectacle it wasn't catharsis I felt; it was simple weariness.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment 2 Comments
03/06/09
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

At least it looks good, like a version of The Dark Knight coupled with Taxi Driver, and remains faithful to the skin if not the bone of Moore and Gibbons’s astonishing vision.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
03/06/09
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

All the emotional investment you have in them comes from your familiarity with the book, meaning newcomers may be a little lost. It really does look beautiful, though.

Full Review Source: Maxim [UK] | comment Comment
03/06/09
Maxim [UK]

Impressively directed, brilliantly designed, superbly written and impeccably acted, this is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller that is essentially the best possible adaptation of Watchmen that anyone could have hoped for.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
03/06/09
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

It's gripping and eye-popping, with terrific characters for the cast to sink their teeth into. But also feels rather overwrought.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
03/06/09
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
all

Latest News for Watchmen

July 28, 2009: RT on DVD: We're Watching The Watchmen
This week -- much to Alan Moore's delight -- history's most notoriously "unfilmable" graphic novel Watchmen arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, while Nicolas Cage's hairpiece consorts... More...

July 28, 2009: Paging Dr. Manhattan: The Future of Digital Characters
Peter G. Travers knows his digital effects: he's worked on the first Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and the Matrix, and most recently supervised many of the key effects... More...

July 27, 2009: Five Favorite Films With Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons' revered work in the comic book world stretches back to the 1970s, when he contributed to cult British publications 2000 A.D. and Dan Dare, before illustrating both... More...

July 27, 2009: Dave Gibbons Talks Watchmen
Too reverential to the source material? Not reverential enough? What happened to the squid, anyway? Zack Snyder's long-awaited adaptation of Watchmen divided both critics and... More...

See All

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